auditioning for the role. He explained that there would always be drama in any relationship Michael had with a girl because of what happened to him; "it will be difficult for him to be physical with a girl, or even be affectionate with a woman," Duell stated. Like any other aspect of Michael's life, intimacy of any kind becomes a struggle. Michael is forced to confront his intimacy issues when Kristina's friend Ali (Maitland McConnell) takes an interest in him. When Ali invites him to a party, he goes to his aunt, Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) and confides in her that he is insecure about possibly getting intimate with Ali because he does not have any sexual experience. Sam enlists her stripper friend, Candy (Andrea Bogart) to help Michael deal with his intimacy issues. When the two are about to have sex for the first time in October 2010, Michael gets cold feet and gets a little aggressive with Candy when he believes things are moving too fast. Candy backs off and advises Michael that getting to know Ali would be his best option. In the meantime, Michael takes a liking to Candy and wants to get to know her. He learns that her real name is actually Abigail "Abby" Haver and that she only got into stripping so she could pay for her schooling. According to Duell, Michael finds it easy to talk to Abby because she doesn't know him; they can start with a clean slate. During an interview with Soap Opera Weekly, Duell revealed "She doesn't know about his baggage; what's happened to him in the past. She knows nothing about his family." Michael and Abby are able to start off fresh and build their relationship based on them getting to know one another. Michael does not have anyone his age who gives him that sense of "anonymity," because all of his classmates are aware of his past struggles. A friendship with someone as mature as Abby is just the kind of relationship Michael needs to help him deal with his own issues. Despite Michael really enjoying Abby's company, it would take a while before she gets him to open up and talk about what happened to him in prison. Duell admitted that Michael might never want to acknowledge what happened to him prison, unless he reaches his "breaking point." Michael finally reaches that point in January